Edward Abnel Keliʻiahonui

Edward Abnel Keliʻiahonui
Prince of Hawaiʻi
Keliʻiahonui at school in 1887
Born(1869-05-13)May 13, 1869
Kaʻalaʻa, Honolulu, Oʻahu
DiedSeptember 21, 1887(1887-09-21) (aged 18)
ʻIolani Palace, Honolulu, Oʻahu
BurialSeptember 25, 1887[1]
Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum
Names
Edward Abnel Keliʻiahonui
HouseHouse of Kalākaua
FatherDavid Kahalepouli Piʻikoi
MotherVictoria Kekaulike Kinoiki
Poʻomaikelani (hānai)
ReligionChurch of Hawaii
The Princes of Hawaii at San Mateo. Left to right: Kalanianaʻole, Kawānanakoa and Keliʻiahonui

Edward Abnel Keliʻiahonui (May 13, 1869 – September 21, 1887) was a prince of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. His name means "the chief whose strength is attained through patience".[2]

Early life

Keliʻiahonui was born May 13, 1869, at Kaʻalaʻa at the mouth of the Pauoa Valley, in Honolulu, on the old homestead of his aunt Queen Kapiʻolani.[3][4] He was baptized by Bishop Thomas Nettleship Staley of the St. Andrew's Cathedral. His genealogy centered mainly on his ancestry as an heir of his great-grandfather Kaumualiʻi, the last ruling King of Kauaʻi. He shared his name with his great-uncle Kealiʻiahonui who was sometimes called the last prince of Kauaʻi. His mother Princess Victoria Kinoiki Kekaulike was sister of Queen Kapiʻolani. His father was High Chief David Kahalepouli Piʻikoi, first cousin of King Kalākaua. Keliʻiahonui was initially educated at St. Alban's College (now ʻIolani School) and Punahou School.[3][5] In 1885, he and his brothers David Kawānanakoa and Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole were sent abroad along with to attend Saint Matthew's School, a private Episcopal military school in San Mateo, California.[6]

Prince of Hawaii

In 1874 the Kalākaua Dynasty ascended to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, ending the Kamehameha Dynasty. On February 10, 1883, Keliʻiahonui was granted by letters patent the title of Prince and style of His Royal Highness by King Kalākaua along with his mother, brothers and aunt.[7][8][9][10] Keliʻiahonui was not mentioned in the first-person accounts of the coronation ceremony for Kalākaua and Kapiʻolani coronation ceremony on February 14 of the same year despite his mother, aunts and brothers playing important parts in the ceremony.[11][12]

The three brothers were known as the Piʻikoi Brothers or the "Three Princes". Being the middle son, he was in a difficult position. A year younger than his brother David, he was physically smaller than either of his brothers. He also fought illness more frequently. His brothers were adopted sons of the king and queen. He was adopted in the Hawaiian tradition of hānai to his aunt Princess Poʻomaikelani, while his brothers were adopted by King Kalākaua and Queen Kapiʻolani.[13]

While attending school in San Mateo, Edward and his brothers would travel south to the Pacific seashore at Santa Cruz. The brothers demonstrated the Hawaiian sport of board surfing to the locals, becoming the first California surfers in the summer of 1885.[14] The historic first was reported on July 20, 1885, in the Santa Cruz Daily, "The young Hawaiian Princes were in the water enjoying it hugely and giving interesting exhibitions of surf board swimming as practiced in their native land."[15]

Keliʻiahonui's health had always been weaker than his brothers. In 1887, Keliʻiahonui was sent home ill with typhoid fever from school in California. He died of typhoid fever at ʻIolani Palace shortly after arriving home on September 21, 1887, aged eighteen.[16][3][5][17] He was buried in the Kalakaua Crypt, Royal Mausoleum called Mauna ʻAla in Nuʻuanu Valley, Oʻahu.[18] Prince Edward Street in Waikiki is named after him.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Funeral Obsequies – The Remains of the Late Prince Edward Laid in the Mausoleum". The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. September 26, 1887.
  2. ^ Mellen, Kathleen Dickenson (1949). The Lonely Warrior: The Life and Times of Kamehameha the Great of Hawaii. New York: Hastings House. p. 127. OCLC 562051928.
  3. ^ a b c "Prince Keliiahonui – His Death at an Early Age at Iolani Palace". The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. September 22, 1887.
  4. ^ "The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders". 1925.
  5. ^ a b "Death of Prince Edward". The Hawaiian Gazette. September 27, 1887.
  6. ^ Agnes Quigg (1988). "Kalākaua's Hawaiian Studies Abroad Program". Hawaiian Journal of History. Vol. 22. Hawaii Historical Society. pp. 170–208. hdl:10524/103.
  7. ^ Kamae 1980, pp. 53–54.
  8. ^ "By Authority". The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Honolulu. February 17, 1883. p. 5.
  9. ^ Thrum 1920, p. 44.
  10. ^ Honolulu Almanac and Directory. 1884. p. 18.
  11. ^ "Crowned! Kalakaua's Coronation Accomplished: A Large But Unenthusiatic Assemblage!". The Hawaiian Gazette. Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands. February 14, 1883. LCCN sn83025121. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2017 – via Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
  12. ^ Liliʻuokalani 1898, pp. 102–103.
  13. ^ Linnea 1999, pp. 38–39.
  14. ^ Perry, Frank. Lighthouse Point: Illuminating Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz, Calif: Otter B Books, 2002, p.144-46.
  15. ^ Walker, Isaiah Helekunihi (2011). Waves of Resistance: Surfing and History in Twentieth-Century Hawai'i. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-8248-6091-2. OCLC 794925379.
  16. ^ Kamae 1980, pp. 64–66.
  17. ^ Sharon Linnea, author of Princess Kaʻiulani: Hope of a Nation, Heart of a People, claimed it was scarlet fever which killed Prince Keliʻiahonui (p. 64).
  18. ^ Parker 2008, pp. 36–37.
  19. ^ Pukui, Elbert & Mookini 1974, p. 190.

Bibliography

See also

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